Kathryn Fox is a medical practitioner with a special interest in forensic medicine, who lives in Sydney, Australia. She has also worked as a freelance medical journalist. Her debut novel was Malicious Intent, and the latest -- her fourth -- is Blood Born.RTE: Describe yourself in a sentence?

Fox: A cock-eyed optimist with a penchant for the macabre.

RTE: What's the one record you'd take to a desert island?

Fox: Greatest hits from the 80s in a language like German. It would take years to work out the lyrics to help pass the time when the books ran out.

RTE: What did you want to be when you were growing up?

Fox: From the age of five I wanted to be a physiotherapist because I thought that's how I could cure autism. I also wanted to be the first female member of Herman's Hermits.

RTE: Who's your oldest friend?

Fox: My mother, although I've only recently appreciated how our relationship has evolved into mutual friendship.

RTE: If I ruled the world...

Fox: Sports stars wouldn't be worshiped for doing their jobs. Creativity and intelligence would be better appreciated and respected.

RTE: Which book do you wish you'd written?

Fox: The last lecture by Randy Pausch.

RTE: What makes you angry?

Fox: Fundamentalists of all persuasions, pretentiousness, and people who lack empathy.

RTE: Name your five dream dinner party guests.

Fox: Stephen Fry, Bill Clinton, Linda Fairstein (author and sex-crimes prosecutor), Mary Magdalene (to find out the real truth so I can scoop Dan Brown) and Hugh Jackman because it IS a dream dinner party.

RTE: Who would you least like to be stuck in a lift with?

Fox: A troupe of sweaty sumo wrestlers.

RTE: What inspired you to start writing?

Fox: A comment made by the Dalai Lama to me when I was sixteen. He said he was glad to have finally met me, and someone else said, "Maybe His Holiness likes the book you haven't written yet." I was determined to study medicine by then in order to cure autism. However, the seed for writing was planted that day, and after amazing life experiences thanks to medicine, and reading Post-Mortem by Patricia Cornwell, the time was right to begin Malicious Intent.